Castle is a Witness to a Murder
by TimeLordCaskett
Summary: Castle fell asleep on the couch while working on his book. He awoke suddenly when he heard a loud noise outside his loft. Beckett receives an urgent phone call from Castle. The more the team starts to dig up on the case, the more odd everything begins to become. Beckett is having to deal with her inner most demon yet while on the case.
1. Chapter 1

Castle had fallen asleep on the couch working on his book, when out of nowhere he was awaken with a start when he heard a loud noise just outside of his loft. The first thing that he did was to go investigate what had happened. He opened the door and saw that somebody had just fallen flat on their face with blood draining out of their body. He looked up to see if he could see anything else. There was nothing to see, no person running from the scene, no murder weapon, just nothing. Castle went back into his loft to pick his phone and call Beckett to tell her what he had just witnessed.

Beckett answered on the 5th ring saying irritability, "What is it Castle? Do you have any idea what time it is? It's 4 in the morning, this had better be good. Otherwise I am liable to kill you when we get to the precinct."

Castle said rather sarcastically, "Funny thing you should mention killing me when that is precisely the reason I was calling you in the first place. I think I just witnessed a murder just outside my loft. You should call the others and get over here ASAP."

When Beckett and her team rushed over to Castle's place, Castle went over the details very plainly as he had witnessed the events take place.

"What were you doing at the time of the murder?" Beckett asked.

"I was on the couch, asleep"- Beckett finding this a little bit like Castle, when he is up late working on his books, rolled her eyes -"when out of nowhere, I was awaken by a loud noise outside the loft. My first reaction was to go investigate what had happened and see what the cause for the loud noise."

"Did you see anything else other than the dead body? Like did you see anybody fleeing from the scene of the crime, any murder weapon, anything?" Espo asked.

Castle just shook his head no.

"Is there anything you could tell us about this person, who he is, what he does, anything at all?" Ryan just had to chime in, just now arriving at the scene of the crime.

"Nope, there is nothing I could tell you about this person. I have never seen him in my life before. I'm very sorry I could not be much of any help to you guys." Castle said disappointment at himself for not being much help.

"Well, until Lanie gets here, I guess we are done for now. Thank you, Castle for all your help," said Detective Beckett.

"Why don't you guys come on in and we can wait and talk until Lanie gets here," said Castle.

The three detectives looked at each other for a moment, and shrugged their shoulders.

"Sure… why not? After all, this is where the crime scene is apparently. Thank you for inviting us in and everything Castle." Beckett said.

"The pleasure is all mine Detective Beckett," said Castle.

Everybody made their way to the island in Castle's kitchen.

"Well come on in. Can I get you guys anything; food, drinks?" Asked Castle.

"Nah, I'm good bro," said Espo. "I grabbed something on the way over here. I could use some water though. Thanks."

"Water for me too, please," said Ryan. "Thank you."

"I'll have some coffee, please," said Beckett. "Because judging by the start of this day and depending on how long we have to wait for Lanie gets here, it's gonna be a long day ahead of us. Thank you Castle."

It wasn't long at all before Castle had all of the drinks ready, when they hear the door opening up. They all turn their heads to see if it was Lanie. In walks Martha from a date she had with some friends.

"What on earth is going on here, and why is there a dead body lying in the middle of the floor out there?" Said Martha.

"Well as you can see, mom," said Castle in a sarcastic tone and rolling his eyes at the same time, "there has been a murder just right outside our place. Lanie hasn't got here to the crime scene yet to look at the body and taken back to the morgue. So we were just going to hang out for a bit until she gets here, if that's alright with you mother."

"Don't use that tone and get sassy with me, son."

There's a knock at the door which means that Lanie must have got there finally.

"Oh thank goodness," said Castle, "saved by the bell."


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright so, maybe I should have shared in the last chapter when the time setting should have been. This is taking place in like sometime in season 4... before Castle and Beckett are officially together. Be prepared for a tragic past to resurface and a trying times for Detective Kate Beckett.**

Castle went over and opened up the door to see who it was. He saw that it was in-fact Lanie finally making it to the glorious party at his loft.

"Nice of you to join us for such a glorious party here at my loft, Doctor Perish," said Castle enthusiastically. And at this notion Martha leaves to her room, leaving the others to themselves.

Lanie just sighed deeply and said, "Sorry everybody I am so late in getting here. There were a couple of slight problems going on at home I had to take care of first." And at that being said, she went straight to work and took a look at the body.

"So what can you tell us about this man Lanie?" Asked Beckett.

"It appears he was stabbed with a serrated knife of some sorts. It looks as though the killer wanted to let the poor man suffer because they obviously knew what they were doing and yet he was able to escape without dying right where the actual crime scene should have been. It also looks as the killer is a copycat killer of somebody who was shot and killed about 2 years ago, Beckett at the precinct, Dick Coonan."

The others were just stand there looking at each other with shock over what they just heard. Castle could tell by the look on Beckett's face, he knew what her mind was going through right now. He so wished that he could do something for her to help calm her down right now. But now was not the time or the place, especially not in front of all of these witnesses.

After composing himself, Esposito asks, "Is there anything you can tell us? Does he have an ID on him to give us a clue as to who this is?" Knowing that nobody bothered with that detail until the ME had the time to examine the body and everything they needed to do, as is the protocol.

"The ID here says that his name is Doug Hightower." Lanie said handing over the victim's wallet to Esposito.

Castle could hardly hold the excitement down when he heard the name-he was still ashamed for not knowing the victim's name before-hand-and even more so now than before. At this, Beckett took a glance over to Castle, 'What is he doing over there' she thought to herself, but just lets it go, for now.

By this time Lanie stands up, looks at everybody seriously and says, "Well, this is all I can do, I'll know more once I get him back to the morgue to examine the body a little more thoroughly." She looks over to Beckett and just shakes her head in a rather apologetic way.

As everybody is leaving, Castle all of a sudden grabs Beckett by the wrist for her to stay so he could talk with her alone.

**I'd like to thank y'all for the follows reviews, and everything. I sure wasn't expecting much from my first time ever doing something like this. Since I got a lot of positive things... I suspect I'll be doing a lot more of these things in the future.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we are still at Castle's loft where Castle and Beckett are having a conversation over the information given to them by the ME and what it could possibly do to Detective Beckett. We also will see what Ryan and Esposito are up to when they get back to the precinct.**

Beckett was a little taken aback when she was held back by Castle when there was obvious work that had to get done. The only thing on her mind at the moment was to find the damn bastard responsible for digging up such a terrible past and a personal demon that was chasing her around for most of her adult life. But she reluctantly stayed to have this talk with Castle, 'Better to get this off the chest now, than latter.' She thought to herself. "What is it Castle? What do you want? Like it wasn't bad enough that you had to drag me out of bed so early. Also, what the hell was wrong with you back there with the others when Lanie mentioned the guy's name?" Beckett said rather irritable and frustrated.

"Well, I'm sorry for bothering you at such an early hour but it obviously was very important." Castle said equal to Beckett's voice. "Plus I didn't want to say this in-front of everybody else," Castle added quickly seeing Beckett is getting impatient with Castle and fast, "I did a little research on the guy when Lanie said his name because the name sounded familiar to me. Apparently this guy is supposed to be very famous for all sorts of interesting things"-

"Oh, so this is why you couldn't be very serious back there now is it, especially learning that this killer is a copycat of the very person who murdered my mother? The same person I was hunting down ever since I became a cop? Castle, the least you could have done was wait, or just kept your excitement to yourself back there." Beckett interrupted. "And I thought that you didn't know the man at all? How can you say you thought the name was familiar to you?" she added looking rather puzzled by the comment.

Castle sighs and says, "Yeah, I know that was very wrong and insensitive of me to do back there and I wasn't thinking when we found out the name. I'm very sorry about that"-Beckett rolled her eyes and gave Castle the most piercing look going straight the heart of Castle. Castle knew that she was just about to kill him and have another murder on their hands- one more than they needed at the moment. So, he starts to talk a little bit quicker and shortens the tail.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the precinct the others have started to wonder what was taking Castle and Beckett so long, they should have been here by now, they were thinking.

Detective Esposito finally puts an end to the silence and says, "Let's just get started without them. We can fill them in when they get here." Ryan shakes his head in agreement. "You start on getting the background on our victim to give us something more to go on."

"Right, I'll get right on that." Ryan replies

"And I will start filling out the paperwork on getting a warrant, if we need one, for getting any surveillance videos for the loft, to catch any suspicious activities between the hours of 3 and 4." Esposito said.

"I'll also go over his financials." Ryan said.

* * *

Back at Castle's loft with Castle and Beckett.

"Anyways Beckett the real reason I wanted to talk to you was to make sure you would be okay taking this case on, after all this is precisely the reason you devoted your life to becoming a cop, making sure you catch the killers, seeking justice for those who have just suffered the loss of a loved one, and just put all of your effort into the work that you do. But you know what this case just might do to you. I want you to know though, I'll be right here for you and support you entirely in what you chose to do."

Beckett takes a minute to take in everything Castle just to her before she says, "Castle I'll be just fine, thank you for the concern, I really appreciate everything you have done for me, and how you want to protect me. I'm a big girl and I can handle my own, and take care of myself." She gives him a hearty felt smile and just stares at him with care, to help convince him and herself. Because she's not entirely sure of herself right now.

"Alright then, I'm not going to fight you on this. Well, I think we should be heading to the precinct before the others really start to get worried."

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up latter, alright." Beckett calls back to him as she gets ready to leave. "Oh and thank you again, Castle." She adds in.

"For what?"

"For everything you have done for me, and for not fighting with me on this decision."

"Always. See you latter then Beckett."

She can't help but just smile at what Castle just says to her, and then she comes back to her senses, nods and says, "See you latter Castle."

**So with Beckett not going back to the precinct right away, where do y'all think she will wind up going. A lot more great things to come in the next few chapters to come. Keep on checking for updates and post reviews on y'all's thoughts on how the story is coming along. Let me know if there is anything I can do to improve it. I would greatly appreciate any feed back that y'all give me, negative or positive, either way is alright by me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** **I'm sorry I haven't posted on my story in a while... I was having a bit of trouble coming up everything that was gonna happen in this chapter I had a gest of where I wanted to go with the story, I just didn't have everything. I think I'm gonna start post a chapter or maybe 2 a week though.**

* * *

On his elevator ride up to the precinct, Castle couldn't help but worry about Beckett and what this case is doing to her from the time the all heard the news. He also couldn't help thinking about how this could be possible, how the killer could be a copycat of Dick Coonan? Why two years later after the case was solved, why wait so long to copy somebody after they were dead? Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize until he heard the ding of the elevator opening up the doors, did he come back to his senses.

Espo and Ryan both stop what they were doing and look up to see Castle alone walking their way. Ryan was the first one to speak when Castle took his seat by Beckett's desk as always, "Yo, what happened to Beckett?"

Castle took in a deep breath and braced himself for what's to come, "She said for me to go on ahead and that she would catch up later." He paused a bit and then continued, "She says she's okay and that she can handle it on her own but I'm not biting one bit. I'm giving her the space she needs right now because I told her that I wasn't going to fight her on this one." He sighed

Espo leaned towards Castle and was looked him straight in the eyes and said in the most gentle, understanding tones, "That's a really good move bro. You know how she can get, especially at times like these. How she doesn't let anybody just so easily when it comes to personal things like these."

Castle just looked at Espo for a moment to consider saying something in return but deep down he knew Espo was right.

Ryan added in for Castle's benefit, "Plus she really needs the space right now for herself… we know that you want to help in any way that you can. One way you can be helping is leave Beckett to her thoughts for now…"

All Castle wanted so badly to do right now was rather be with Beckett to help her in any way that he could. He reluctantly gave up. Espo and Ryan could tell that he still wasn't sure with what they told him and stared at each other for a bit and could tell they were thinking the same thing.

Castle looked up at the two of them and could tell that they almost knew what he was thinking so he just decides to say to reassure them, "Okay look guys, I'm giving up trying, but that still doesn't mean I won't be still worrying about her though. Like what the case might do to her; she can't get too emotional and put her personal feelings while trying a go at the case, she can't afford to do that and neither can we."

Espo and Ryan both shook their heads in agreement understanding full well what might be at stake here.

They decided that it was time for a change in the subject so Esposito said, "Ryan here went over the victim's financials and background. I filled paperwork for a warrant for the surveillance videos, if we needed to, for your place to see if we could find any suspicious activities that might have happened. And I'm about to call the place to see if we can get the videos sent over." As he leans back in his chair and calls Castle's apartment complex.

Ryan sits back in his chair and Castle gets up and moves over to Ryan's desk to see what all Ryan had found on the victim, even though he knew most of it already.

Castle was rather puzzled about the information that Ryan had gathered on the victim since it didn't match the same as his. "Is this what you were able to dig up on the victim Ryan?" Castle asked.

"Yeah… why?" Ryan asked rather confused and looked up at Castle to see his puzzled look.

"It's just back at the crime scene when we heard the name, I did a little research on him because the name sounded familiar to me, this was not what they information I got on him." Ryan and Castle looked at one another still with the same amount of puzzlement and confusion for a bit. Then Castle continued, "Where did you find this information?"

Ryan pulled up the page to where he found it, "Here, look at it yourself. Let me see your information that you pulled up on the victim."

Castle pulled out his phone and pulled up the information that he found, handed over the phone to Ryan, "Here you go."

After a while of this information swapping, Esposito got off the phone with the apartment complex, "They should be sending the surveillance footages over of the activities that happened during the night any minute now." Espo looking up to see the other two were both huddled around Ryan's computer and had puzzled looks and wonder what was going on. "Yo, what's going on here? What are you two doing over there?"

Castle retorted with a sly remark, "Oh nothing much, we just wanted to talk about some things without you."

Espo was not amused, crossed his arms together and retorted back at Castle, "Well, I was just asking a simple question, if that's how you're going to be, I'll just leave you two to yourselves then."

Castle just smiled at Espo with a sarcastic smile, after a while he said rather normally, "Nah, if you really must know, we were only comparing notes on what we found on the victim because our notes obviously don't coincide with one another."

Esposito found this rather odd too and was rather puzzled by that, "Well when you guys are done with that I'd like to take a look at it myself, But right now I'm going to go see what more Lanie can tell us about the murder." Esposito got up to leave.

Ryan said over his shoulder, "Alright, we'll be right here when you get back."

Castle went to the murder board, Ryan followed him and put the picture of the victim up. He started to jut down both of the information that he and Castle both had on the board.

Castle still looking at the murder board, and said to break the silence between them, "It's interesting that somehow both the information don't match up with each other. One would think they would be, but they're just not."

Ryan still writing information on the board, shook his head in agreement and moved onto the information given about the ME report there at the crime scene.

"Sort of makes you wonder what kinds of things Hightower really was into… and makes you wonder if that's even his real name or not."

Ryan finally finished writing, still looking at the murder board, "You're right Castle, all this does make you wonder what is real about this guy and what is not."

* * *

"What do you got for us Lanie, anymore news on the murder victim?" Esposito asked

Lanie was just finishing up with the body when Esposito just walked in, "You're in luck Javi, because I just got done with my full examination of him." She looks up to see that he is alone, a little smile and a wink goes Espo's way. Espo is a little taken aback by this... and he starts to wonder. Lanie adds, "I did a finger print scan on him, and ran DNA just to be sure that his name went along with his ID or not. Turns out, he is not what the ID says." Lanie paused for a bit and was shocked to see that Esposito was not as phased by the news as he thought he would be. Lanie was about to start talking again, but didn't for a minute.

So Esposito just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I was may have been already suspecting that little information after the information that both Castle and Ryan got for him did not coincide with each other, I was thinking maybe his identity was faked as well." Lanie was a bit dumbfounded by this news.

So far with everything with this case, was not making any sense whatsoever. What could all of this mean? Who really was this guy? Who was he really? Why did he have a fake identity? Why did all of the information on this guy not match with each other.

"Anyways Lanie, back to the topic here. What is this guy's real name then?"

"I don't really know, I haven't been able to find that out. It's as if he really doesn't exist."

Esposito and Lanie both didn't know how they were going to find out who this guy really is if nothing gives way soon. There is no way to move forward in the investigation if they could not find his identity and fast. Esposito calls Ryan's cellphone.

"Ryan." Ryan answers.

"Yo bro, you and Castle better get down to autopsy and quick... I'll explain everything when you get down here."

* * *

Beckett receives a call from Castle but she just turns her phone off. She didn't want to mess with the case right now. Lost in her own thoughts, she wasn't really paying attention to where exactly she was going. She comes back to her senses when she sees something catching her eyes. She parks her car and decides to check it out. When she gets close enough to see what it was, she finds out that it was her mother just standing at the corner of the street. Beckett didn't know what to make of it and was rather surprised to see her mother right there in front of her. All of a sudden Beckett started running after the figure to really make sure it's her.

When Beckett got closer and closer, she knew that it definitely was indeed her mother... and Beckett even became aware of where she was even more. She was in the God forsaken alleyway where her mother was murdered.

* * *

**Yeah, yeah that's right, I did go there with Beckett. More to come on the encounter of Beckett's mother's ghost in the next chapter. I was trying to decide on where exactly I was going with Beckett's story and where exactly I was gonna put it too. I think what helped me decide where I was going more in fact was seeing the season finale of NCIS, and on an episode of Bones.**


End file.
